The Big 12 is the only Power Conference that does not have divisional play, as they lack the required number of teams (12), they currently are a league of 10 Universities. As a result, the B-12 schedules a little differently, as they do not want to be setting at home, while the other PC’s are playing their championship games in the first week of December! Only Kansas, Texas, Texas Tech, & West Virginia are not playing on December 6, the last Saturday in the 2014 regular season. The good thing about not having divisions, is that the Big 12 plays a round robin schedule (every team in the conference competes against every other team in the league) Many analysts believe the Big 12 champion is the only true PC champ, as the title is earned on the field of play, not the luck of who one draws in cross divisional play. The SEC, ACC, & B-10 play only 2 teams from the other division and often the luck of the draw can impact who wins that side of the conference. If Wisconsin draws OSU & MSU from the B-10 East & Nebraska gets Rutgers & Indiana, well … you do not have to be a rocket scientist to see; advantage Cornhuskers! The Big 12, like the PAC 12, plays 9 conference games, not 8 as the ACC, B-10 & SEC. As a result, the Big 12 can schedule 30 (10×3) NC games or three per team, a different number then the PAC 12’s 36 (12×3), and different again from the 56 (14×4) that the ACC, B-10 & SEC can put on their calendars.
That said, let’s take a look see at who the B-12 is messing with in 2014!
Oklahoma: plays one PC, Tennessee (SEC) @ home; Baylor: elected not to schedule a PC in 2014; Texas challenges the Bruins of UCLA (PAC-12) @ neutral site, AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, TX. TCU: welcomes Minnesota (B-10) to their home arena, Amon G. Carter Stadium, in Fort Worth; Kansas State: takes on national runner-up in 2013, Auburn @ home. Oklahoma State: upped K-State by one, by scheduling defending champ, FSU, in Arlington Texas’, AT&T Stadium. Texas Tech: plays Arkansas @ Home; West Virginia: travels to the Georgia Dome to play Alabama (SEC) & challenges Maryland (B-10) on the road. Iowa State: plays in-state rival Iowa (B-10) in Iowa City (Road Game) & Kansas: plays Duke in Durham, NC.
The B-12 plays 10 teams from PC’s in 2014; 3 road games, 4 home tilts, & 3 contests are at neutral sites. Further, those games are against: ACC, 2 dates; B-10, 3 games; PAC 12, 1 tilt; SEC, 4 meetings. Finally, the B-12 does not play the lone independent in this mix, ND. While B-12 teams are taking on Power Conference opponents on 10 occasions, they are teeing it up 8 times vs the FCS in 2014.
This concludes the evaluation of the 5 PC’s scheduling against other Power Conferences.
Here is how Sully’s CFP rates the five power conferences scheduling one another!
1) Big Ten: They play 17 of their 48 Non-conference (NC) or 35.42% of their schedule against Power Conference teams. The B-10 plays 11 FCS teams or 22.92% of their NC schedule. While not great, it is clearly better than the rest!
2) ACC, Like the B-10, they play 17 PC opponents, for an identical 35.42% of the NC schedule. Where the B-10 gets the edge, the ACC elected to schedule 14 FCS teams or 29.17% of their NC line-up. This fact hurts the conference strength of schedule and dropped them into 2nd place!
3) B-12: The B-12 has a total of 30 NC games, like the PAC 12, they play 9 conference games, leaving room for 3 Non-Conference dates per team. They elected to schedule 10 PC teams or 33.3% of their NC games, while setting up 8 dates with FCS opponents or 26.22% of their NC schedule. While Identical to the PAC 12 in the # of FCS games, 8 (B-12 8 of 30, to the PAC 12, 8 of 36), they do play a higher percentage of games against the FCS. The B-12 plays one less game against the PC’s, 10 to the PAC 12’s 11 games. However, the B-12 plays a higher percentage, of their NC games against Power Conference opponents, than the PAC 12, (33.3% to 30.56%). The higher percentage of games against Power Conference opponents moved the B-12 in front of the PAC 12.
4) PAC 12: The PAC 12 plays 9 conference games and as a result, are only able to schedule 36, not 48 NC games, like the ACC, B-10, SEC or 30 like the Big 12. Here is how their scheduling breaks down; 11 contest vs PC’s or 30.56% of their 36 NC games, while playing FCS teams 8 times or 22.22% of all NC contest. The PAC 12 percent of games against 63 scholarship programs (FCS) is slightly better than the B-10’s but their percent of PC games is significantly lower then their Rose Bowl Brothern, the ACC, or B-12. This Stat Landed them in 4th place!
5) SEC: While their is little argument that this is the best conference in college football, their NC schedule is doing little to enhance that widely held perspective. The SEC scheduled just 11 games vs PC’s or 22.92% of their NC opportunities; while establishing 14 dates with FCS opponents for 29.17% of their NC games. Also, keep in mind, the SEC Rep as the best conference has been, at least in part, established by beating up the B-10 in bowl games (I’m talking Conference reputation , not a specific team winning the national championship or 4 of the 14 SEC teams; Bama, Florida, LSU, & Auburn), keep in mind, the PAC 12 has handled the B-10 in recent years, as has the ACC & the B-12! Finally, while I personally believe the SEC is the best league, it really does not matter what Sully’s CFP believes or what anybody thinks. It comes down to their NC regular season schedule, which in 2014, is just short of a joke! The SEC plays more games against FCS opponents than it plays against Power Conference teams. In fact, they are the only PC that schedules more FCS teams than PC opponents. The logic “the SEC has so many good teams, it would be unfair for them to schedule up during the regular season”, will no longer fly in this playoff driven format! The SEC is going to have to pack their bags and start heading to the near west & far west to take on the B-12 & PAC 12 and/or break out the welcome wagon for these teams, in their respective stadiums, during the regular season.
So as we head into the 2014 season… be mindful of strength of schedule; the chatter about this … who played who, will turn quickly into an intense debate, especially given the money at stake. I can hear it now … How did that team get into the Final Four? Who put that Guy/Gal on the Selection Committee? Four spots & Five PC champions, who will be left out & why? Why didn’t the SEC get 2 teams? … all of this will be scrutinized and a whole lot more! This is going to be the most interesting college football season in years!
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